Location

Contact Us

Venue

Use Group Code SPI for the Protospiel block discount of $99 per night. Must book by August 31, 2018.

The country's best game design convention is back for its third year in Chicagoland!

If you are a game designer looking to get professional level feedback from other designers, there is no better place to get that feedback. In just our second year, we grew to 80 designers! You'll have plenty of opportunities to play test your designs throughout the weekend. And the friendships you'll make will last a lifetime.

If you're a gamer who likes to try out new things, then Protospiel is also likely the best experience you'll have. You'll get to see dozens of new designs in a single weekend. Plus you'll get to shape them before they hit the store shelves or the pages of Kickstarter.

Tell Me More

Protospiel is a casual event where amateur and established game designers get together to test their game prototypes in a supportive, cooperative environment. It's a great way to break your game and to fix it. Don't worry about the appearance of your game. It isn't nearly as important as the functionality. Some prototypes will be highly polished, but that's not what's important at Protospiel. Our goal is to help you make great games!

The general principle is for designers to reciprocate other designers' time and feedback by playing each other's games. For example, if you need three play testers for your game, you should try to play three other designer's games before the event ends. This is not a hard and fast rule, but the event works best when people try to follow it.

To qualify for a free Publisher's Badge you must have published a game by a designer other than yourself within the last two years and are actively looking for another game design. Please email admin@Protospiel-Chicago.org and include the type(s) of games you're looking for in your request.

Badges may be purchased at the door with cash or credit card. No checks will be accepted.

Food & Drink

We're back to a hotel with a restaurant, so outside food is not allowed to be brought in. There will be a light snack service.

Hotel

We've secured a block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza (Chicago - Northbrook). Use group code SPI to get a discount rate of $99 per night. You must book your hotel no later than August 31, 2018 to get this rate.

Parking

Parking is free at the Crowne Plaza.

Schedule

This will run like the traditional Protospiel, which is open design, collaboration, and play testing. The room will be open as follows: